50 of the Greatest Quotes by Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, known by many as Mahatma Gandhi was born in Porbandar, India, on October 2, 1869. Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, politician, anti-colonial nationalist, and writer who led an Indian’s non-violent independence movement against British colonial rule. He also advocated for the civil rights of Indians in South Africa. As such, he is considered as the father of their country (India) and given the name Mahatma which means “Great Soul”.
Gandhi inspired millions of people across the world and became one of the most recognizable figures of the 20th century. In 1948, Gandhi was assassinated causing his death, but his life and teachings inspired lots of people including Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.
Quotes by Mahatma Gandhi
“I regard myself as a soldier, though a soldier of peace.”
Quotes by MAHATMA GANDHI, Speech at Victoria Hall, Geneva (10 December 1931)
“You will not pit one word of God against another word of God.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Christian Missions, Their Place in India (ed. 1957)
“Service is not possible unless it is rooted in love orahimsa.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Young India (ed. 1928)
“A spirit is not necessarily purer, because it is disembodied.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Young India (ed. 1929)
“Mankind has to get out of violence only through non-violence.”
Quotes by MAHATMA GANDHI, Non-violence in peace & war (ed. 1949)
“There can be no nonviolence offered by the militarily strong.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Non-violence in peace & war (ed. 1949)
“Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, All Men are Brothers: Autobiographical Reflections (ed. 1980)
“It is for you and me to show that no vice is inherent in man.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Collected Works (ed. 1967)
“A person unbound by vows can never be absolutely relied upon.”
Quotes by MAHATMA GANDHI, Young India (ed. 1929)
“A living faith cannot be manufactured by the rule of majority.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, India on Trial (ed. 1922)
“Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt of the evening.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Gandhigrams (ed. 1947)
“You will find that God is always by the side of the fearless.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Communal Unity (ed. 1949)
“I shall despair when I despair of myself, of God and humanity.”
Quotes by MAHATMA GANDHI, Collected Works (ed. 1967)
“Prayer is a confession of one’s own unworthiness and weakness.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Gandhigrams (ed. 1947)
“The beauty of poetry is that the creation transcends the poet.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Young India, 1924-1926 (ed. 1927)
“One may detest the wickedness of a brother without hating him.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Letters on Indian Affairs (ed. 1923)
“Nations are not formed in a day, the formation requires years.”
Quotes by MAHATMA GANDHI, Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi (ed. 1963)
“Spiritual force is like any other force at the service of man.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Ramanama (ed. 1949)
“Devotion required by the Gita is no soft-hearted effusiveness.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Young India (ed. 1931)
“Legal imposition avoids the necessity of honour or good faith.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Young India, 1924-1926 (ed. 1927)
“What the eyes are for the outer world, fasts are for the inner.”
Quotes by MAHATMA GANDHI, Fasting in Satyagraha: Its Use and Abuse (ed. 1965)
“Freedom from all attachment is the realization of God as Truth.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, From Yeravda Mandir: Ashram Observances (ed. 1945)
“A vow must lead one upwards, never downwards towards perdition.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Young India (ed. 1929)
“Democracy demands patient instruction on it before legislation.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Collected works (ed. 1981)
“Mass civil disobedience was for the attainment of independence.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Collected works (ed. 1980)
“My Gita tells me that evil can never result from a good action.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Young India, 1924-1926 (ed. 1927)
“No country can become a nation by producing a race of imitators.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Young India: 1919-1922 (ed. 1924)
“The force of love is the same as the force of the soul or truth.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Mahatma Gandhi at work: his own story continued (ed. 1931)
“What is imprisonment to the man who is fearless of death itself?”
Quotes by MAHATMA GANDHI, Young India: 1919-1922 (ed. 1924)
“You cannot stop big wars if you carry on little wars yourselves.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, The Essential Gandhi: His Life, Work, and Ideas : an Anthology (ed. Vintage, 1962)
“That which looks for mercy from an opponent is not non-violence.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Collected works (ed. 1980)
“Nonviolence, in its dynamic condition means conscious suffering.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Gandhi on Christianity (ed. 1991)
“A courageous man prefers death to the surrender of self-respect.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Communal Unity (ed. 1949)
“Self-restraint is the very keystone of the ethics of vow-taking.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, The Good Life (ed. 1950)
“We win justice quickest by rendering justice to the other party.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Teachings of Mahatma Gandhi (ed. 1947)
“Genuine laughter is true eloquence and more effective than speech”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Collected works (ed. 1980)
“If one takes care of the means, the end will take care of itself.”
Quotes by MAHATMA GANDHI, Non-violence in Peace & War (ed. 1942)
“The human body is meant solely for service, never for indulgence.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Gandhigrams (ed. 1947)
“What is gained by violence must be lost before superior violence.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, The village reconstruction (ed. 1966)
“Faith is like the Himalaya mountains which cannot possibly change.”
MAHATMA GANDHI, Gandhigrams (ed. 1947)
If you liked our selection of 50 of the Greatest Quotes by Mahatma Gandhi, then perhaps you would also enjoy The 50 Most Motivational Dalai Lama Quotes.
Mahatma Gandhi Facts
Mahatma Gandhi was not born with the title Mahatma. The title was given to him by the Nobel Prize-winning Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. Gandhi got married at age 13; his wife, Kasturbai Makhanji Kapadia, was one year older than him.
He took an early vow to avoid dairy products (including ghee). However, after a decline in his health, he relented and started drinking goat’s milk. He sometimes traveled with his goat to ensure that the milk was fresh and that he wasn’t given cow or buffalo milk.
He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times. But unfortunately, he was never awarded the prize.
Great Britain released a stamp honoring him after 21 years of his death.
There are 53 major roads (excluding the smaller ones) in India and 48 roads outside India named after Mahatma Gandhi.
